FAQs

FAQs

What is the Approved Contractor Scheme (ACS) standard and what is the review all about?

The current ACS Standard has been developed with a wide scope encompassing all aspects of a business. It enables a holistic view of how an organisation meets the needs of security businesses, buyers of security and stakeholders including how it is:

being managed and led;

providing services to its customers;

providing for and managing its staff; and

considering the society and environment in which it operates.

The requirements of the ACS Standard are generic and can be applied to all organisations regardless of size and sector.

The achievement level within the ACS Standard is set to validate existing good practice; encourage the development of new practices and discourage poor practice found in some organisations within the industry.

Phase 1: The participation activities as part of this initial review commenced late March 2017 and are scheduled to conclude by mid-August 2017. The findings report from phase 2 will be presented to SIA towards the end of September 2017.

Phase 2: Based on the findings from the Phase 1 consultation, we will develop a revised ACS Standard (September to December 2017).

Phase 3: Will involve market testing the new approach from December 2017 to the end of February 2018.

The revised standard will then be implemented this summer. The transition will be managed to enable businesses to prepare for this change. It is likely that businesses will not be assessed against the new standard until late 2018/early 2019.